


Lost Heir Con

by RenkonNairu



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Alien Culture, Alien Planet, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Culture Shock, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, Headcanon, Omniverse does not exist/never happened, Osmosians mate for life, line of inheritance, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-15 04:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4592271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenkonNairu/pseuds/RenkonNairu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-DISCONTINUED-</p><p>In the wake of being returned from Ultimate Kevin, the trio is trying to get back to business as usual. That is, until Aggregor shows up with an old man claiming to be Kevin's grandfather shows up.</p><p>Osmosians are aliens not mutant Earthlings. Devin existed and was a Plumber (among other things). Omnivers ret-cons can suck it!- (Mostly, father-son angst, but some Gwevin too.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ruhsh Control

**Author's Note:**

> This story is discontinued. 
> 
> I was basically trying to take a couple of my head-canons and make a complete story out of them, but I was just to all over the place. Trying to put to much in one story. Maybe a more competent author could have done it, but I'm to disorganized with my thoughts and sloppy with my story telling. 
> 
> The head-canons I was using are…
> 
> * Following under the assumption that Osmosians ARE aliens and not mutants (Omniverse ret-cons can blow me), they have a very rigid culture that puts a high emphasis on self-control. Marriages are arranged by each child's gender-parent (boy's marriages are arranged by their father, girls' marriages are arranged by their mother), and mating pairs mate for life. There is not dating, cheating, adultery, or pluralized marriage among Osmosians. Devin Levin left Osmos V because he couldn't continue living in that stifling environment. So, he left, joined the Plumbers, and was assigned to Earth. He found life on Earth much more comfortable (although, because of his up-bringing, he was WAY conservative for 80s-90s era America). He met Kevin's mother, fell in love, got married, had Kevin, then promptly died exactly how it happened in the flashback from "Vendetta".
> 
> * Kevin and Gwen are soul mates. Gwen is an Anodite, Anodites are pure energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be dispersed to redirected. So… how did the Anodite that is Gwen end up being BORN into her current body? My head canon, in a previous life Gwen was, of course, an Anodite, but Kevin was also some version of an Osmosian (either alien or mutant, take your pick). They had a passionate romance, but the Anodite got board with it and tried to leave. The Osmosian didn't take the rejection well and in his rage absorbed her into himself -completely- so that they'd always be together. When he died, the Anodite's energy was released back into the universe where it could collect in a vessel (Gwen) until its form was restored. But, because of the way she "died" her energy (soul) is forever, eternally, and irrevocably connected to the Osmosian's energy (soul). Ergo, they are soul mates. I'll let you decide for yourself whether or not soul mates are a good thing or a very, very bad thing.
> 
> * Osmosians mate for life. (Whether you choose to believe they're aliens or mutants.)
> 
> * All Anodites are sluts, but Gwen is not. Verdona describes Anodites as "free-spirited". Free-spirited is a nice way to describe someone who's very promiscuous. 
> 
> So… yeah. That's what I was trying to do with this fic. I could have done it better. But I'm just to weak of an author to pull it off at this time in my life. Maybe I'll try again after I get more experience under my belt.

_The window looked out over a sheer drop. The Keep's wall melted into a cliff-face, that then dropped down into the Ice Flow. One straight line down. No ledges jutting out from the stone. No roots or branches to grab if one was unfortunate enough to fall. Not even the drama of sharp rocks rising up from the ice to impale the unfortunate, hypothetical, faller. Just hight, frigid water, ice, and mist._

_Idly -more as a thought exercise than anything else- Devin wondered which would kill him first. The freezing cold of the water. Fragments of ice crushing his skull. The force of his body hitting the water from the drop. Or maybe just a heart-attack mid-air from the fear and adrenaline anticipating his inevitable demise. A demise that -at the moment- seemed all the more inviting than the fate that was laid before him._

_He supposed it was his duty. As the only living offspring of Luar and Revin Levin._

_Levin._

_One of the eleven bloodlines of the Rans'lahd, the ruling body of Osmos V. Eleven families carving the planet up into eleven territories, ruling each independently from the others yet still in cooperation with each other. A confederate-empire of sorts. And Devin was on the cusp of inheriting his family's territory. His mother's eleventh of the world._

_Devin wasn't meant to inherit. He was an eleventh son, and eleventh sons did not inherit their parents rule. That was the privilege of the first hatched daughter or son. But their particular eleventh of the planet -Sinoth- was an especially harsh climate. Between the long winters, short summers, difficult trade routs and just general bad weather, infant mortality was high. Most of his parents' offspring expired not long outside the egg. Others were lost to the ice or the snow. A slip on the slopes. A trip near the ice flow. A weak anchor or faulty climbing rope on the cliff-face. Buried in snow. Frozen in the waters. Splattered on the rocks. Through one way or another, all the Levin heirs were lost. Until there was only Devin._

_That in and of itself was not the problem. While it was not exactly what Devin expected from his life -or really wanted, particularly- he was not afraid to step up and fulfill his duty as a son of a Rans'lahd bloodline. Devin was responsible and fair -at least, he liked to think of himself as such. While he wanted to be a warrior, he imagined he could be a half-way decent leader instead._

_The problem was the other requirement of a Rans'lahd heir._

_Pair-bonding._

_In order to inherit, Devin had to have a bond-mate. An assurance that the Levin bloodline would continue and by extension the Rans'lahd._

_That was perfectly sensible. Devin knew that. The Rans'lahd depended on the continued strength and stability of the eleven families. If one of the bloodlines ended, then the whole system would collapse. The remaining ten families fighting over the territory left behind by the extinct eleventh. Chaos and war. Violence and destruction. That couldn't happen. So, before a Rans'lahd heir could inherit their parents' territory they had to have a fertile bond-mate to insure the continuation of the bloodline._

_His intended was also an eleventh daughter._

_From the Ashrah bloodline._

_Their territory, Kanahn, was far to the south. Dry, like Sinoth, but hot. Arid. Devin had never been there, but he'd seem images. Holos and stills. Rolling golden sands under clear blue skies. There were never any clouds in the images. Almost no ground water either. It looked hot. Any female -anybody- that was used to a hot desert climate like that would hate living in Sinoth. At least… Devin assumed. He would not meet his intended until after he met with the Ashrah family's representative and was deemed worthy of combining his bloodline with theirs._

_Not for the first time, Devin considered jumping from the window before him._

_It would be a perfect escape plan. They could never drag him back and force him to preform his duty._

_Devlin placed his palms flat on the frigid stone of the window sill. Once again looking down the straight, sheer drop that ended abruptly in freezing water, swirling between a haze of ice and mist. He lifted one knee up onto the sill. Jumping wasn't the hard part. The hard part was working up the nerve to actually do it. He moved his hands to brace himself against the frame, both feet on the sill now._

_He crouched. Looking down._

_It would be so easy to jump…_

_Not even jump, really. Just relax his muscles and slip. Let himself fall. It would be so easy…_

_The door to his chamber opened behind him. Devin looked back to see his father standing in the doorway. Arms crossed over his chest, an unreadable expression on his face._

_Revin looked the younger man up and down. Noted his posture, perched on the window sill. Raised a single black eyebrow. "Well, if you're gonna jump, better do it now. Otherwise get dressed. The party from Kanahn just arrived."_

_Devin cast one final contemplative look out the window. Down into the Ice Flow. It would be over quickly if he did. Devin leaned out the window, one hand on the frame anchoring him. Keeping him from falling. A blast of chill wind hit him. Stabbing his face and chest with pins and needles of cold. Devin quickly rethought his plan and climbed back inside. "I was just beginning to feel a bit… trapped, Ehrsha."_

_"You're a son of the Rans'lahd." Revin reminded him. "You will always be trapped."_

…

The Rans'lahd did not recognize the authority of the Plumbers. Osmosians took care of Osmosian affairs. This was not something the administration was particularly happy about. 

Especially not when the Rans'lahd demanded -not requested- that the recently apprehended fugitive, Aggregor, be turned over to them. He was Osmosian, let him face Osmosian justice. This rankled a great number of people. Not just the Plumbers who protected the galaxy. But also the peoples and citizens of the worlds he terrorized. The Orishan, the Geochelone Aerio, the Prypiasapian-B, and the Amperi. The Necrofriggians of planet Mykdl'dy and the Volann and Premann of Pisiccs. Everyone wanted a piece of Aggregor.

But, if one Osmosian -one, all by himself- could tear through two different galaxies and cause that much damage, imagine what a whole planet of them could do. So, in the interest of continued peace and security, and against the protests, Aggregor was returned to his home world to face his own people's justice.

At the time, he was mostly dead. Kevin Levin, one of Ben Tennyson's companions having drained him dry of all his energy, so they thought nothing of it. What harm was there in returning a comatose vegetable to his homeland? Let the invalid serve out his sentence in the place of his birth. It made no difference, he wouldn't know where he was anyway. A slow pulse and low breathing might indicate that he was indeed still living, but for all intents and purposes, Aggregor was dead to the world. 

That was, at least, until Ultimate Kevin was destroyed -returned to the normal state of Kevin Levin- and all the energy he stole returned to where it belonged. All the energy Kevin stole during his madness, but also all the power Aggregor stole during his rampage. And returning energy -all the energy that was taken- meant that the energy that Kevin took from the older Osmosian was returned to him as well. Aggregor's own natural life-energy. 

He awoke in Go'rahm, one of the Rans'lahd prisons. 

Aggregor didn't know what had transpired since he was defeated or how he came to be where he was. But he was smart and he could guess. How he got to his current predicament, however, was not important. What was important was what he was going to do now. Aggregor stood and stretched. Flexing limbs that hadn't been used in weeks. He had grown weaker in his convalescence, but his muscles had not atrophied. A few more weeks regular exercise and he would be back up to his old strength before beginning his quest for the Celestialsapien. 

On his feet now, Aggregor extended a finger towards the seemingly empty space where -in any normal prison- a wall should be. There was nothing visible, but right before his finger would have been reaching out of the cell, it hit a solid, invisible wall. Just to be sure, he absorbed a bit of stone from the floor and poked the invisible barrier again. The borrowed matter melted from his hand and returned to the floor. A null field then. Something to not only keep him within his cell, but cancel his powers and the end any escape attempts before they began. 

There was only one thing to do then. Shout. 

"Hey!" Aggregor called out into the corridor. "Hey, I'm awake! And I demand to speak with the matriarch of my bloodline!"

It took a few moments, but a guard eventually appeared. Sprinting down the corridor towards his cell. "Quiet down, inmate."

"I am Aggregor Ashrah." He reminded the guard imperiously. "I am an eleventh son of the old Ashrah Rans'lahd and I demand to speak to the matriarch of my bloodline. Akeda Ashrah."

"You have no right to demand an audience with the Ashrah Rans'lahd." The guard informed him impassively. "Akeda Ashrah disowned you when it became know what you were doing among the outworlders. Your name has been stricken from the Ashrah line of decent. Aggregor the Bloodless." 

That threw him. Aggregor hadn't imagined his sister would disown him. Not after all the other shit he pulled over the years that sparked no retaliation from her. But then again, his latest of outbursts had brought their whole world under the scrutiny of the rest of the stars. Perhaps the other ten Rans'lahd demanded the action and Akeda was mererly placating them. Whatever his sister's motivations, that didn't matter right now. If he was Bloodless now that meant that he was no longer obligated to plead his case to any specific Rans'lahd. He didn't have to go to his sister. He could go to another. 

"Then arrange for me an audience with the Levin Rans'lahd." This time it was a request. A Bloodless had no right to demand anything from anyone. "I have information that would be very interesting to Luar Levin."

"What would a dessert rat like yourself possibly have to say that might interest the Rans'lahd of Sinoth?"

Here Aggregor smiled. Who would have thought that the same brat that defeated him would now be the key to his release from prison? Assuming the guard actually delivered his message, of course. "I know where she can find the last living heir to her bloodline."

"Devin Levin has already passed." Argued the guard. Guards of Rans'lahd prisons made it their business to remain informed on the bloodlines. Anything that might affect their jobs or class standing was important for them to know. "The Plumbers sent word of that over a decade ago."

"The lost heir I'm referring to is not Devin Levin, but Devin's first son -his only son." Aggregor smiled. "I imagine Luar would be very interested to hear about him."

…

Kevin's hand shook as it held his smoothy. 

Ben raised his eyebrows at him. Maybe they shouldn't have ditched Gwen to come to Mr. Smoothy. Maybe they should have gone with her to explain to her parents about the house. Or maybe made her put it off, and come with them for smoothies. The smoothies were cold, but the night air was warm, there was no reason for Kevin to be shivering. Maybe he was in shock?

It had been only a few hours since they managed to change him back from Ultimate Kevin. So… shock -or something. That was a thing, right? Shock. Ben seemed to remember Gwen talking about that. It was a thing that happened to people.

"You okay, dude?" He asked. 

"Yeah. Fine. Now." Kevin assured him. "Hey, uh, thanks for not killing me back there."

"I'm pretty sure Gwen would have killed me right back if I had." Ben assured him. "She's kinda attached to you for some reason. I can't image why. You're a total jerk."

Ben gave a short light laugh that he thought Kevin would share. A bit of self-deprecating humor -admitting that he was a jerk. But that was okay because he was their jerk. But Kevin didn't laugh. Instead his expression turned sober -serious. He put his still shaking hands under the table, no longer looking at Ben, eyes focused on the table between them. 

"I am." He said -muttered really. As if the statement was more to himself than to Ben. He was silent a long moment, just staring at nothing. Then, "Tennyson, this can't happen again."

Ben huffed in exasperation. "Okay, I get it. You don't like hanging out with me without Gwen. I know she's really the only reason you teamed up with me in the first place."

"What? No. I mean… what just happened…" He sort of petered off, not really finishing the thought. But his meaning was clear. This couldn't happen again. He couldn't absorb a surplus of power, lose control, go crazy, absorb friends, try to kill Ben, and try to absorb Gwen. Not again. Not ever again. "Thanks for not killing me this time. But if it ever happens again… don't listen to Gwen. You do what needs to be done. Okay?"

The Hero of the Universe slurped through his straw loudly. Looking over his friend. Shivering as if cold to spite the warm air. Dark circles under his eyes -a by-product of absorbing to much energy, looking tired and ready to collapse. But earnest. If it meant keeping him from losing his mind, hurting their friends or killing Ben… If it meant protecting Gwen -kill him. Don't listen to Gwen's speeches about him still being good inside. That he doesn't mean to do the bad things he does. That everything will be fine the moment they cure him. Just do what needs to be done. He cared more about the safety of his friends and loved ones than he did about his own life. 

Gwen was right. Kevin had changed a lot since they were little. 

Ben set his drink down. "Gwen said something interesting in-between you trying to absorb her and kill me. She said I always do what needs to be done."

"So, you'll do it?" Kevin asked. 

"I'll do what needs to be done." Ben assured him. "I gonna get you some proper Osmosian training."

"Come again?" Blinked the older boy. 

"Look, everything you know about your powers, you learned on the fly on the streets, or by trial and error in prison. Am I right?" Ben reminded him. "You've never had an ounce of formal training in how to use your powers in your life. Right? Well, we've all seen what it leads to. There are some things about yourself you can't control and a lot you don't understand. And if you don't understand it, there's no way in heck Gwen and I can understand it. This last time, yeah you saved the universe from Aggregor, but then you turned so bad that I decided everything would be better if you just died. …Ya know, instead of sticking you in the Null Void or something less fatal."

He paused to slurp another sip from his straw. 

Then continued. "But I don't think any of that would have happened if you had some formal training in how to use your powers. Real training from another Osmosian. You heard Aggregor, the energy doesn't have to make you crazy. Its just something they say to keep the rest under control. Whoever 'they' are. So, as soon as you're feeling up to it, we're all gonna pile into the Rust Bucket and go to Osmos V. We're gonna find you a teacher and you're gonna learn to control your powers better."

Kevin braced his hands on the bench and fought about what Ben was saying. It would be nice to be in control of himself for once. To not have to fear absorbing to much power, accidentally (or intentionally) assimilating the Omnitrix, or sucking-up a universe ravaging megalomaniac, or devouring his own girlfriend. To not have to live with the constant terror of losing his mind. To have the security of knowing that when they went into a fight, he could use his powers freely without the constant staring of tempering himself. To be free of concerns and just wail on the bad guys. 

Tennyson made it sound so easy. But, if memory served him correctly, Osmos V practiced a strict Isolationist policy towards anything non-native. They did not accept Plumbers' authority and -with the exception of one single port town- offworlder's weren't even allowed to land on the planet's surface. Gwen studied the Plumbers' file on the planet better than he had. She would know more than him. But from what he did know, Kevin was pretty sure they weren't gonna find someone willing to teach half-breed born off world as easily as Ben's loosely outlined plan made it sound. 

But that didn't change the fact that his powers really were more of a curse than a blessing. 

"Have you talked to Gwen about this yet?" He asked. 

"Not really, no." Tennyson shook his head. 

"Lets get her opinion on this first." Kevin suggested. "This sounds like something that might need some forethought and that's something you and I have never been good at."

…

_Clad in a tunic of green, the same shade as the Levin bloodline banner, Devin knelt under the scrutiny of the party from Kanahn. He kept his eyes down, focusing on the gold and copper inlayed in the marble floor. A looping, swirling design of interlocking circles that told the story of Lu-Levin, his ancestor and founder of the Levin bloodline._

_From her seat on the dais, Devin's mother recounted his pedigree and lineage, his training and skills._

_As an eleventh son, Devin was never meant to inherit the position of patriarch of his bloodline, nor was he originally trained to participate in the Rans'lahd. As an eleventh son, Devin was originally destined for the warrior class. The guardians and protectors of the eleven bloodlines. But he was still a descendent of one of those eleven bloodlines. A son of the Rans'lahd. It was this fact that his mother was reminding the Kanahnite party of -in great detail._

_Devin, son of Revin, son of Yevin XI, son of Mevin, son of Aevin… etc. on his father's side._

_Devin, son of Luar, daughter of Nera, daughter, of Maygan, daughter of Rhi… etc. on his mother's side._

_The leader of the Kanahnite party, Akeda Ashrah, raised her hand to silence his mother. She was several years Devin's senior, a second daughter. One trained in diplomacy -to keep the peace and mediate between the bloodlines, or -should the first daughter or son be unable to fulfill their duties- step up as heir to their bloodline. Devin risked a glance up at her. She had the dark hair of all Osmosians, worn long and braided into a tight plait, the hairs plucked at her temples to display four horn-like protrusions. But her skin was more of a pinkish-red, almost the same color as the sands of Kanahn from which she had come. All the members of the Kanahnite party had that same pinkish-red skin, it was a mark of the Ashrah bloodline -just as pale complextion and a decisive lack of horns was a mark of the Levin bloodline._

_Another member of the Kanahnite party locked eyes with him. Warrior class, like Devin was supposed to be, a member of the party's guard. The look was a warning. 'Keep your eyes down. You're not one of them yet.'_

_"You have more than proven your eleventh son's line of decent." Said the Kanahnite leader. She folded her hands, interlacing her fingers and turned her eyes from Luar, to Devin, still kneeling on the ground. "You have more than proven that he is a son of the Rans'lahd. But he has not been trained to be a Rans'lahd. He might have use as a first daughter's consort, but what makes you think he is fit to inherit the Levin's seat? Has he even been tested? Can he control the Ruhsh?"_

_Devin tensed noticeably at that. He had never been tested to inherit a Rans'lahd seat before. He remembered when his eldest sister and later eldest brother were tested. The test was a private affair, administered by a Cleric of the candidate's own bloodline and witnessed only by said Cleric, the candidate's parents, and a representative of the bloodline they planned to pair the candidate with. None of Devin's siblings spoke of the test except to say that it was unsettling and -as far as he could be sure- only his first sister and first brother had passed. But then, of all his parents' children, they were the only ones who'd been receiving the Rans'lahd training since hatching. Devin was not looking forward to being tested._

_"We have not yet administered the test." Luar admitted._

_The Kanahnite spokeswoman stood, her hands smoothing out the wrinkles of her dress-tunic. "Then we do not know if he even can inherit the Levin seat in the Rans'lahd. We have nothing to discuss here."_

_Luar also stood. "The test cannot be administered without a representative of the Ashrah bloodline." She reminded the younger woman. "We were only waiting on you. If you wish it, the test can be administered tonight. After dinner."_

_"Before dinner. We don't want him losing his meal all over this lovely floor."_

_"I shall summon the Cleric."_

_And with that the meeting was adjourned. The Kanahnite party filed out of the hall. His mother stood, coming down from the dais._

_"Devin, stand up." She said. "Get off the floor before you catch cold."_

_He did as he was told, climbing to his feet, still avoiding eye-contact. His mother was a Rans'lahd. You did not meet the eyes of a Rans'lahd unless you were also a Rans'lahd. Devin stood at parade rest, a posture that was drilled into him since he could stand on his own legs. Since he was hatched, he was told that he would be a warrior. He was trained to be a warrior. To safeguard and protect his elder siblings and the Rans'lahd. That was back when he still had siblings. As the last living Levin, it was now his duty to become heir and claim a seat in the Rans'lahd. All his rigorous warrior's training was out the window now._

_"Look at me." Luar commanded._

_Devin's eyes snapped to her face. Focusing on her forehead, the dark hair that was turning winter-white at the root. Or her mouth, framed by more frown lines than smile lines. Anywhere but her eyes. He was not a child anymore, and as an adult, he had not yet earned the privilege to meet his matriarch's eyes._

_"Do you recall your new training?" She asked._

_"In energy absorption and manipulation." He nodded. "Yes, Ehrha."_

_"Good. That is all you need to know for the test." She informed him. "It will be hard for you, you have only a handful of seasons of training under you when most Rans'lahd have their whole lives before they take their test and claim their bond-mate and their seat."_

_That worried him. If a lifetime of training was necessary to pass the test, how would he with only a few short years worth? "What is the test, Ehrha?"_

_Luar sighed, her shoulder's tight with tension. She placed both her hands on the sides of her son's face and forced him to meet her eyes. "The Cleric is going to have you absorb energy." She told him. "He's going to make you keep absorbing it until you almost over-dose. But you must remain in control. Do you hear me? Do not give into the Ruhsh of power. Keep your head clear. Remember, 'the mind is the body's master'."_

_"'The mind commands and the body obeys'. Yes, I know." He nodded. Suddenly terrified. Devin suppressed the urge to swallow hard, a lump of dread rising in his throat. All his life, he'd been told not to absorb energy. That absorbing energy turned Osmosians -all Osmosians- from sanity, and degraded them into base and primitive beasts that only knew hunger. That fed on those dear to them as easily and as readily as on a stranger. In short -monsters. Absorbing energy turned them into monsters. It was called the Ruhsh. In the throws of Ruhsh, an Osmosian would feed off his own mother as readily as a stranger._

_But since beginning his Rans'lahd training, Devin learned that what he'd been told in his warrior's training was not entirely accurate. Apparently, different classes were educated differently and told different things about their natural-born abilities. Basically, everything that was taught to the classes beneath the Heir classes was all lies. Ninety percent of the Osmosian population was internationally being taught misinformation._

_"I will do my best, Ehrha." Devin promised, though he didn't know if he actually could succeed or not. Devin was not accustomed to absorbing large amounts of power. Just the carefully controlled servings that were given to him by his father during their Rans-lahd training excursuses. Energy work with his father, administrative and logistical work with his mother. The two main skills he would need to claim a seat in the Rans'lahd._

_Luar nodded. It was all she could ask of him, really. To do his best. Controlling ones self while in the throws of an absorption over-dose was difficult for even those who had been trained since hatching. It took just as much stubbornness and will, as it did training. An Osmosian had to want to remain in control._

…

The hall was not much changed since the last time Aggregor had seen it. 

High vaulted ceilings above stone walls draped in wall-hangings. A decretive insulation to both show off the grandure of the Levin history, while also staving off the seemingly perpetual cold of Sinoth. And the floor. A beautiful inlay design of copper and gold. A series of spiraling and interlocking circles. Each loop framing a scene from the life of their ancestor. 

Lu-Levin. 

Aggregor kept his gaze to that floor while he waited for the matriarch to give him leave to stand. HIs eyes scanning the scenes, from his youth where first absorbed an over-abundance of energy from his ill-fated best friend. To meeting the Frei-jah that eventually became his bond-mate. Battles against other bloodlines. Hatching of offspring. Deaths of offspring. All the way to the scenes of his tragic end. It seemed any Osmosian that pair-bonded with a Frei-jah ended in tragedy. 

"You say you bring word of a son of my eleventh son." Luar's voice was tired. Scratchy with age. She should have retired years ago. Abdicated in favor of an heir, as Aggregor's mother had done. But Luar had no heir to pass her Rans'lahd seat to. And so she held on. Clinging to health, life, and her seat with the cold, gnarled hands of duty and determination. If a seat within the Rans'lahd was left vacant, it would destabilize their society. It could come to fighting. So the old woman held on. 

"Yes." Aggregor confirmed, eyes still to the floor. "You might have heard of the one that defeated me at the Forge of Creation."

"Ben Tennyson?" There was a tone of disdainful doubt in her voice. Luar had already made up her mind that whatever Aggregor had to say was a lie. "That is no Osmosian name." 

"No. Not Tennyson." He agreed. "Devin's son is one who travels with him. Kevin. Kevin Levin." Here Aggregor did risk disrespect and raise his eyes. But not to Luar. His gaze was to the foot of the dais where Luar's bond-mate and father of her hatchlings stood. Revin. "I swear, he looks just like you."

The calculated disrespect had the desired effect. Revin's lips parted in an O of disbelief and the old man took an unconscious half-step forward. Devin had been his eleventh son -his final son- and Kevin was the only living son of his son. Of course Revin would want to know him. 

"I have not given you leave to rise, Bloodless." Luar snapped. 

Aggregor returned his attention to the floor. 

"My son left our world without taking a bond-mate." Luar reminded him. "Who -or what, I should ask- is supposed to be the mother of this lost heir to my bloodline. Not one of us."

"No. Not an Osmosian." Agrregor agreed. "I first met him on Earth, and Ben Tennyson is from Earth. I would assume the mother is an Earthling. 'Humans' is what they call themselves."

"You expect me to place a half-breed of unknown maternal bloodline on my seat within the Rans'lahd?" She sounded abjectly disgusted. "You have nothing more to say to me. You're dismissed."

Aggregor grit his teeth. If Luar dismissed him now, he would be put back in Go'rahm and never again see the light of day. He was determined not to be sent from her hall. Not until he could convince her of Kevin's value as an heir. Aggregor stood. "He can control the Ruhsh!"

Luar paused. Regarded him skeptically. "You lie. Has he been trained? Who trained him? No untrained half-breed can control the Ruhsh."

"I've seen it. He absorbed my life-force, and the energy of the Ultimatrix -a weapon more powerful than any in the universe, and it did not destroy him. When he was in the throws of Ruhsh, he turned his gaze to the comrades of his party -Ben Tennyson, and… and a frei-jah-" Aggregorn hesitated only because he was not sure whether or not admitting that Kevin traveled with a frei-jah would help or hinder his case. The Frei-jah of legend were only myth. They did not exist. But modern frei-jah, those born with flame-red hair, carried the stigma of the mythical witches after which they were named. "-but he did not feed on them. He turned again and left. Leaving them alive and untouched."

Luar's skepticism turned to outright concern. "He travels with a frei-jah witch?"

Aggregor grit his teeth, instantly regretting letting the Levin matriarch know the woman was a red-head. "She is a descendent of the Tennyson bloodline. A first daughter to Max Tennyson's first son."

"These Tennyson's they do not weed out the frei-jah at hatching? How has their line not fallen into ruin?" Frei-jah were wicked creatures and their offspring cursed. This was why any child hatched with red hair was taken from their bloodline and… cleansed. 

At his sides, Aggregor's hands balled into fists. His own first daughter had been hatched a frei-jah. She lived less than a day before a Cleric was summoned to take her away. Neither he nor his mate ever saw her again. There was a severe drought that year and their other two hatchlings from that first clutch later died of the elements. A tragedy that drove his bond-mate into a depression she could not recover from. Aggregor hated the general view and attitude towards frei-jah. A barbaric practice to keep the bloodlines pure. 

He remained tactfully silent.

"I will not allow any man under the influence of frei-jah witchery near a Rans'lahd seat." She growled. "Son of my son or not. No frei-jah witch will ever poison this bloodline!"

If he was smart, Aggregor would keep silent. He never should have mentioned that the woman that traveled with Kevin was a frei-jah. But the damage was done. Now the best thing he could do was bow out gracefully. Take his dismissal and hope that Luar might change her mind. Kevin was her only living decedent, after all. The end of her line. Eventually, her obligations to the Rans'lahd would fall under her instincts as a mother. Aggregor was smart. But frei-jah was a one subject where emotions overrode reasoning. He lost his daughter and his mate because of the Rans'lahd's policies towards frei-jah. 

He stamped his foot on the copper and gold inlayed floor. "Might I remind you, Luar Levin, that your own bloodline is descended from a Frei-jah!"

He pointed to the circle depicting the Frei-jah laying her first clutch of eggs for Lu-Levin. 

"And it was that same Frei-jah that lead to his destruction." Luar pointed to one of the final circles on the outskirts of the spiritual. Lu-Levin, driven mad by his Frei-jah mate, absorbs her in his rage. Then after coming down from his Ruhsh, and realizing what he'd done Lu-Levin ended his own life. "I've heard enough. You bring no good news for me, Aggregor the Bloodless. You are dismissed. Never appear before me again."

That was a final dismissal. This time guards came up to drag him from the hall. 

He was pulled into the corridor outside, but before the door could shut behind them, Revin slipped out. 

"Hold, men!" He commanded. 

The guards released Aggregor and averted their eyes from Revin. Only another Rans'lahd could meet the gaze of another Rans'lahd. 

"You're dismissed." Revin snapped at the guards who nodded quickly and hurried away. Revin turned his attention to Aggregor, also averting his eyes with unwilling respect. "Look at me, Aggregor the Bloodless."

He raised his eyes to meet Revin's own. Dark eyes the same shade and shape as Kevin Levin's. The boy really favored his paternal grandfather in appearance. The resemblance was uncanny. 

"Where is the son of my son now?" Revin asked. 

"Sir?"

"Where can I find him?" Revin clarified. "My bond-mate will not allow him to inherit, but… he is still blood of my blood and I will know him."

"Your bond-mate and the matriarch of your bloodline has dismissed me." Aggregor reminded him. "I'm now bound back to Go'rahm. You'll understand my reluctance to give you more than I already have." 

Revin glared at him. None of the Rans'lahd enjoyed being told 'no'. The Rans'lahd were used to getting their way. "Take me to him and I shall see to it that you never again see the inside of Go'rahm prison." 

…

"…and so he said we should get your opinion before I grab him and rush off." Ben finished.

Arms crossed over her chest, sitting in her desk-chair, her French homework forgotten on the desk behind her, Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't Kevin come with you?"

Ben shrugged. "I donno."

Outside the window the sounds of sanding, sawing, and hammering could be heard as the contractor and day laborers her father hired worked on the repairs to the front of the house. The door, driveway, garage, and lawn. Kevin really did a number on the property in his quest to get to and absorb Gwen. Back when he was still in the throws of his energy-madness. Ruled by hunger for more power and unable to control himself. 

"Is he avoiding me?" Gwen asked outright.

"No… Of course not." Ben was quick to answer. "He's just… ya know, got Kevin-stuff to do. Like… selling some illegal tech we're not supposed to know about or learning a new con-artist skill." 

With a sigh, Gwen turned back to her desk to pull out her Plumber's badge. Kevin was avoiding her. Plain and simple. He felt bad about what he tried to do to her. What he almost did do to her. He was ashamed of himself and felt that he didm;t deserve to be in her company. What he didn't understand was that there was nothing to be ashamed about. Gwen more than understood the tole his powers took on his sanity. And he wasn't as much of the uncontrollable monster that he thought he was. Her mind called up the memory of Kevin glaring down at her in frustration…

_'Don't you get it! I've been trying to stay away from you!'_

Even in the throws of his energy induced insanity, he still cared about her. Tried to avoid her because Kevin knew that the moment she was close to him and he could sense her delicious mana, he wouldn't be able to control himself anymore. He would absorb her. Drain her dry, until there was nothing left. Kill her. And he didn't want that. He loved her, so he avoided her then. 

But there was no reason to avoid her now. 

No reason other than his own self-involved stupidity. 

Gwen accessed the encyclopedia application on her Plumber's badge and pulled up their files on Osmosians and Osmos V. There was disappointingly little information. The Osmosian ruling body, the Rans'lahd, imposed a strict isolationist policy. They did not participate in interplanetary trade. Neither did they allow off-worlders to mingle with the main population and pollute their culture. There was a single city near the equator where selective merchant ships were permitted to land and sell their wares. But their crews were not allowed beyond the city limits. 

Pursing her lips, Gwen wondered just how feasible this plan was. To go to Osmos V and find a teacher for Kevin. It sounded nice and all. But from the sound of it, Gwen was skeptical the Rans'lahd would even let them land. Never mind move around looking for someone to teach an outsider. That's assuming there was even a teacher willing to work with a foreigner. 

"Anyway…" She began. "From the sound of it, we'll need to get special permission from one of their leaders to find a teacher for Kevin."

"But you think its a good idea." Ben pressed. 

"The idea sounds… nice." She admitted. Really nice, actually. Kevin learning to control himself and use his powers more freely sounded fantastic, actually. But Gwen was practical and had to consider just how doable it actually was. "It would be really great if Kevin didn't have to be afraid of himself anymore. If he could remain in control."

...

_A dylithium crystal. One of the most powerful energy sources on the planet. The Cleric held it in a black velvet cloth. Insulating the skin of his hands from the crystal pulsing with power._

_They stood in the center of the hall. Devin and the Cleric. Surrounded by Devin's parents behind him and the Kanahnite representative, Akeda, and a chosen warrior of the bloodline behind the Cleric._

_Holding the crystal out to him, the Cleric instructed. "Absorb the dylithium. Don't shrink from its power. Keep drinking it until the crystal is empty."_

_"That's it?" Devin looked skeptically at the Cleric._

_"That is the test." He nodded._

_With a deep sigh to settle his nerves, Devin ran through his training. There was nothing to fear. The mind was the body's master. The mind commands and the body obeys. So long as he kept his mind. So long as he didn't lose himself in the Ruhsh, he would be fine. Reaching his hand out, Devin touched a finger to the crystal's point. It was cold and smooth under his skin. He closed his hand over it, and began._

_It wasn't so bad a first._

_Devin started slow. Absorbing just a little at first. The power like a tingling up his arm to his shoulder, across his chest, and when it reached his heart the sensation spread over his whole body. A light, prickly, tingling sensation. Like stepping into a bath of tepid water after being out on the snows of Sinoth. Uncomfortable but pleasing. Devin decided it wasn't so bad. In fact, he rather liked it. He quickened his absorption. His heart rate quickened with the pace as he absorbed the power._

_More power. Devin wanted more power._

_It was exhilarating._

_He closed a second hand around the crystal, lifting it out of the Cleric's velvet cloth. Gazing into it without actually seeing it. Devin was to focused on sucking the energy out of it. So much energy. More energy than he'd ever absorbed before. And then…_

_…The crystal was empty. Completely drained._

_But Devin still wanted more._

_The empty crystal fell from his hands. Shattered on the floor like hollow glass._

_Devin glanced around himself. At the Cleric, the Kanahnites, his parents. They were all so alive. Full of vitality. Charge with the energy of life._

_More energy._

_More power._

_Devin wanted it. He wanted all of it._

_The Cleric was closest to him. Devin took a step forward. The shards of the shattered dylithium crystal crunching under his boot. He didn't notice. There was life energy before him and that was all that mattered. There was power. More power. Devin wanted more power!_

_His hand closed around the Cleric's wrist. The man's eyes widened with fear. His heart rate spiked. Sensing the danger his life-force glowed brighter with the will to defend itself. But that just made Devin want it all the more._

_"Remember your training." Said his mother's voice, sounding far away. "The mind is the body's master."_

_But Devin wasn't listening. His mind was focused on other things. With the hand already closed around the Cleri's wrist, Devin pulled the man in closer. Pressed him against his body. The other hand closing around the Cleric's throat and Devin fed. Absorbing the life energy that pulsed just beneath his palm. It was different than the dylithium. Less potent, but with a wildness and will of its own that made it even more exhilarating. More._

_The Cleric fell to the ground. Drained._

_Devin still wanted more._

_His eyes fell on the representative of the Kanahnites._

_He took a step toward her. One hand outstretched._

_That was when the warrior stepped in._

_Wielding his sholto, a spear-like staff with the blade shaped like lightning. He placed himself between Devin and Akeda. Smacked Devin down with the shaft of the sholto. Spun it over his head to build its kinetic energy and brought the weapon back down. An arch of power erupted from the lightning blade, engulfing Devin in tongues of power. It shocked him back for a moment, but only a moment. As soon as Devin realized he could just absorb the attack too, that was exactly what he did. Using the spear's power to bolster his own._

_"Enough of this." Akeda snarled. "Aggregor, move."_

_The Kanahnite representative pushed her warrior and would-be-protector out of the way. She glared at Devin, unafraid of his hunger glazed eyes and tapped him once on the forehead._

_Devin didn't know what happened. One moment he was strong. His body coursing with power. The next thing he knew, the flow of energies within him was interrupted and he was falling. Then he was on the floor. Unconscious._

_"The test is over." Akeda announced. "Devin son of Revin, has failed."_

...


	2. Curious Pair-Bonds

_After diner, Revin went upstairs to check on his last surviving son. He found Devin was awake and out of bed. His bowl of soup left forgotten on the bedside table had turned luke warm. The boy -no, the younger man- was in the window again and Revin fought back the urge to pull his son away from it and back into the room. Just as he'd done earlier tat day when he first discovered Devin sitting on the sill._

_"Did I kill the Cleric?" Devin asked, not looking at his father. His attention was transfixed by the Ice Flow below his window. The large bergs of ice drifting through the stream just under the cloud of mist beyond their view. It was mysterious, and tantalizing, and deadly._

_"Its a risk all Clerics take when they administer the test to the daughters and sons of the Rans'lahd. Do not let his death weight on your mind. You were in the throws of Ruhsh and not in control of your own actions."_

_They lapsed into silence then. Neither really knowing what to say to the other._

_"What did the Ashrah woman do to me?" Devin asked after a pause. "One moment I was in the throws of Ruhsh. I was so powerful and strong. I could see everyone else's power and I wanted it. Then she just… touched me, and it was over."_

_Revin phased for only a moment before answering. "It is an advanced technique that is only taught to the Heir classes after they pass their test."_

_Devin once again looked down. That was all his father would tell him about it then. He failed his test and so would never learn the technique or how it worked. It felt like a higher form of energy manipulation, only instead of manipulating raw energy or borrowed energy, Akeda manipulated the energy within his body without the need to absorb any of it herself. Interrupting the flow in a way that halted the Ruhsh._

_With a sigh, Devin's eyes fell back to the Ice Flow. Once again contemplating his options. Then, he realized, he didn't actually know what his options were now. Now that he had failed his test. What was left for him?_

_"So, what happens now?" Devin asked._

_"Now…" Revin sighed. "You failed the test, so you can never inherit. You'll observe the traditional one year of reflection after a pair-bond is rejected. At which point I'll begin the search for a different bond-mate for you. You should try and have children right away. Your first daughter or first son will inherit in your place."_

_Devin nodded. What else could he have expected, anyway? "Will I return to my Rans'lahd training?"_

_"No." Revin shook his head. "But you won't return to your original warrior class either. You'll continue to study statecraft under your mother. You cannot inherit, but you can assist her with the administrative and logistical work of a Rans'lahd seat."_

_Again Devin nodded. That made sense. He failed his test and so couldn't inherit. But he was still the last decedent of their bloodline, the Levin Rans'lahd seat would pass to his offspring. His first daughter or first son. Because of the things he learned while training to be a Rans'lahd, he couldn't return to warrior class -he knew to much. So, Luar and Revin had to keep him close. Find some role for him within their rule of Sinoth that did not include inheritance or soldiercraft. He still had a place._

_This thought should have been reassuring to him. The last son of a bloodline in decline, who failed his test and was rendered unable to inherit should be relieved to still have a place within his territory and his household. But for some reason, all Devin felt was… tired._

_When his parents pulled him from his warrior training and began grooming him as a Rans'lahd there was a sense of urgency to it. A pressure to succeed. Now that he failed, that pressure and urgency was gone. Leaving Devin feeling like things had been concluded. Like there was nothing else he needed to do and he could relax for the first time in years. But he couldn't relax. There was still more his bloodline needed from him. And so, Devin felt tired. Mentally and emotionally exhausted._

_"Ehrsha," he began, hesitantly, "Since we have to wait a year before another bond-contract can be proposed, would it be alight if I took my year of reflection abroad? Away from Sinoth."_

_Revin paused, raising an eyebrow at his last remaining son._

_"I'll come back. After a year has passed I'll come home and pair-bond with the partner you choose for me." He quickly assured his father. "I just… Sinoth has been so oppressive lately. I feel…"_

_Trapped. He cast a sideways look to his window. Its sheer drop and sudden stop at the surface of the Ice Flow still looking just as inviting as it had earlier that day. An escape no one could drag him back from._

_His son's meaning was clear enough to Revin. "Your mother won't be happy." He informed the younger man. Then his expression shifted into something gentler. Not quite a smile, but nowhere near a severe frown either. "But that will be my problem. Go with a light heart. For one year you are free from obligation to your bloodline and at the end of that year, come back to me and fulfill your duty as a son of the Rans'lahd."_

_Devin looked up at his father, meeting the older man's eyes without permission. Revin didn't reprimand him for it, Devin had not expected him to give consent. "Really? I can go?"_

_"For a year and a day." Revin nodded. "And, Devin, don't make me regret this decision."_

…

There was a brief moment of panic when Kevin felt a hand close around his ankle and yank him forcefully out from under his car. The metal of the socket wrench he'd been using was half-way absorbed up his arm before his brain caught up with his eyes and he realized his would-be attacker wasn't an attacker at all. 

It was just Gwen. 

She glared down at him. Her full luscious lips, that always seemed to be a rosy pink even though she never wore lipstick were pursed in irritated impatience. Something between true ire and pouty neglect. "Why are you avoiding me?"

"What? I'm not avoiding you." The denial came fast to his lips. A little to fast, actually. Kevin knew just as well as she did that he was avoiding her. As he told Ben the night they finally brought him back from his 'Ultimate' mutation, that could never happen again. He couldn't allow himself to become the enemy again. The monster. He couldn't try to harm Gwen. Or worse, actually harm her. The best was to keep him from harming her was to keep away from her.

She looked like she was about to argue and Kevin braced himself for the inevitable conflict. Gwen was excellent at debate. Quick thinking and clever, and dirty enough to take his own words and twist them against him. She would go far in politics. But then again, hadn't future Ben said she was President of Earth? Kevin could see how. 

"Alright then. Fine." But she didn't argue the point. Instead, Gwen shrugged in seeming defeat. Pulled up an empty crate, turned the thing on its side, and sat down. "If you're not avoiding me then you won't mind me just hanging out here."

She sat down. Crossed one leg over her knee, a posture that drew his attention to the hem of her skirt and the curve of her hip. She really was a very attractive woman. Smart, brainy, studious, independent, willful, and a competent fighter. And on top of all of that, she was smokin' hot to boot. How had Kevin ever managed to attract such a seemingly perfect creature? He certainly knew he didn't deserve her. He was surly, uneducated, greedy, impatient, moody, quick to anger, and especially to violence. What she saw in him, Kevin would never know. 

"Are you sue you wanna just sit here and watch me work?" He asked, trying to get her to convince herself that wherever he was, was not where she wanted to be. "I mean, if you have a French test to study for… or your mom wants you to do something for her…"

"Nope." She assured him. "My schedule's all clear."

She wanted to be with him. That just made Kevin appreciate her all the more. But it was because he appreciated her so much, liked her so much, might even consider applying the term 'love' to her, it was because of that, that he couldn't allow himself to be around her. His very presence put her in danger. Osmosian and Anodite. It was like a wolf dating a rabbit. A shark dating a seal. An owl dating a mouse. Or Ben dating a plate of chili fires. Their relationship defied all logic. And yet… they were both irresistibly drawn to each other. 

When he was in the throws of his energy induced madness, all he could think about was her. All he wanted was her. To have her. Take her. Devour her. Make her one with himself. When he was sane again, in full control of himself and able to recognized his own guilt, still all he thought about was her. How he was a danger to her. How it was inevitable that he would hurt her one day. So, against all impulse and instinct, Kevin tried to avoid her. 

But she wouldn't let him. She would invite herself over to his house. Invade his garage. Drag him out from under his car. Force him to confront his overwhelming attraction to her. 

"Won't you be board?" Kevin insisted. "I mean, I'll be working on my ride. You hate it when I ignore you to work on my ride." 

"I'll be fine." She leaned over, propped her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand. "You just scuttle back under there and I'll watch your jeans stretch over your manly crotch while your knees stick out from under the frame."

Kevin's eyes snapped up from the hem of her skirt riding up where she sat to her face. "Wait, what?"

Her lips spread into a coy smile. "You heard me."

He honestly had no idea what to say to that. Sure, Kevin was always checking her out. sneaking a peep every time her skirt rode up in a fight. Appreciating the view when a button would pop off her shirt and expose some cleavage. But he was male and things like that were expected from him. Gwen, on the other hand, was not only female and expected to not give into such habits, but was also far to polite and respectful to. With her tightly pulled back hair and leggings under her skirt. Modest. She was the last person Kevin would have expected to have… dirty thoughts.

"I…" He stammered. "You… That is, uh-"

She laughed at his discomfort. A light, clear sound that did funny things to his stomach. Gwen stood, crossing the space between them. She was so close… her breasts were almost brushing agains this chest and Kevin felt himself go very, very tight -not all of it with tension. She trailed a hand lazily up his arm, sending tingles all up and down that side of his body. "Ya know, I've been so frustrated with you avoiding me this past week." 

Kevin wanted to say something witty in response but his brain had gone fuzzy and words just would not form. 

"Are you afraid of me?" The hand that was caressing his arm drifted over his shoulder and down his back. Kevin gasped just before her hand could pass below the waistband of his jeans and Gwen paused at the sudden intake of breath suddenly wondering if she was making him more uncomfortable than she intended. She pulled back a bit.

Kevin grabbed her hand and replaced it back at the small of his back. "Don't stop. I just…" He trailed off lamely. "Gwen, I've been drawn to you since you and Tennyson busted my weapons deal with the Forever Knights and the Highbreed. But… I don't know if I'm drawn to you because I like you and wanna date you, or because you're an Anodite and I wanna eat you!"

Confident again that his awkwardness wasn't because she was invading his personal space, Gwen returned both hands to the small of his back and once again pressed her body against his. "Do you wanna eat me now…?"

"I, uh…" The color was high in his cheeks. "How are we defining 'eating' again? 'Cause the thing I'm thinking about right now isn't what I think you're thinking…"

Gwen once again smiled that coy smile. She leaned up and kissed him. A slow, deliberate kiss. "Do you wanna absorb my mana?" She asked. "Do you want to drain me until I'm nothing more than an empty shell?"

"Definitely, definitely not." Kevin assured her. 

"Good." And just like that, everything turned off. Gwen pulled away from him, brushed off her skirt and straitened her ponytail. "Ben wanted to meet us at Mr. Smoothy."

…

The ship dropped its passengers off near the epicenter of extra terrestrial activity on Earth. Not because that was where their passengers were actually going (although it was), but because it had such high alien activity that it was the best mapped location on the planet. Even better than Roswell, New Mexico, or Smallville, Kansas. The ship dropped them off just outside Bellwood city limits. 

Revin looked around at the open road. A flat path of concrete and tar combined to create asphalt, it stretched out behind them through trees and shrubs and greenery into a busty desert. Before them, the road lead to a mass of gray structures all clustered together in the bowl of a tiny valley. The city of Bellwood, where Aggregor had assured Revin was the place where the son of his son resided. But while the town was clearly in view, it did still seem to be quite a ways away. 

"Are we expected to walk the rest of our journey?" Revin inquired.

Aggregor only rolled his eyes at the question -though Revin could not see the acton for the helmet and visor he wore over this eyes. He was able to barter his freedom by agreeing to take the old Rans'lahd to meet Kevin Levin, but as one of the boy's -and his friends'- most recent enemies, he did not want to be quickly or easily recognized. So, while Porttown arranging transport for his royal entitledness, Aggregor also acquired an old Plumber's suit with helmet and visor to hide his face. The last thing he wanted was to be walking down the street, bump into Ben Tennyson or his frei-jah cousin, and have this trip explode into another fight. 

He offered his sholto to the older man and said, voice condescending, "If its to difficult, you can use this as a walking stick."

Revin cast a warning look at his companion. The Rans'lahd did not tolerate disrespect. "I might look old, Bloodless, but I am still more than capable of destroying you where you stand."

"Ah, but then you'd never find Devin's son." And the only thing visible of Aggregor's expression was the knowing smirk that crossed his lips. 

It was true. Revin had barely ever left Sinoth in his lifetime and never been off-world before. He was in a strange and unfamiliar land with strange and unfamiliar peoples. He did not know their customs and they did not know to respect and honor him. He had no way to find who he was looking for and this excision would -undoubtedly- degrade rather quickly into a temper-fueled destructive outburst. Of course, such an outburst from the old Rans'lahd would undoubtedly bring Ben Tennyson and by extension Kevin Levin right to him, but Aggregor chose not to mention that fact. So long as Revin was convinced he still needed Aggregor's help, he was assured never to be returned to prison again. 

"Then stop flapping your mouth and lead me to him." Revin commanded, his patience wearing thin. 

And so, they began walking. 

…

Ben waved when he saw the green and black GTO Judge pull into the Mr. Smoothy parking lot and take the vacant space next to his own black and green sports car. Gwen hopped out of the passenger seat, straightened her skirt, and waved back to him before walking around to the driver's side and practically dragging Kevin out. He had been sulky and moody ever since the Ultimate Kevin fiasco was resolved. Sometimes Ben wished Kevin would just hurry up and get over himself. He didn't understand how Gwen could up with it.

But then again, Gwen did seem to be irrationally drawn for Kevin for reason Ben would never understand. 

From the moment they crashed in on Kevin brokering a deal between the Highbreed and Forever Knights, it seemed like she wanted him. Giving him funny looks and smiles, dropping not-so-subtle hints that she wanted him to ask her out, worrying about him when he wasn't around, and -of course- insisting Ben not kill Kevin when he was trying to absorb her. Instead doing everything in her power -including enlacing the help of Darkstar, one of their enemies- to help him and change him back. Gwen was hopelessly and irrevocably infatuated with Kevin and Ben just could not understand why. 

They took up seats at Ben's table. 

"Do you guys wanna order anything?" Ben asked.

"No." Kevin answered grumpily.

While at the exact same time Gwen stood saying, "I'll get us something."

"I don't want anything." Kevin called after her, but she was already in line to order. 

Sipping his smoothie loudly through the straw, Ben regarded Kevin. Moody, sulking, grumpy, and just a little bit frustrated. At least he wasn't shaking anymore. That was good, right? "You look better."

"Thanks, Tennyson. You know looking pretty for you is so important to me." Kevin growled back.

"Wow. Okay, no need to get your panties in a twist." Ben set his smoothy down to glare at his sometime-friend-sometimes-enemy. "The last time I saw you, you looked like shit, now you look like normal-you. Which is still kinda grungy, but without raccoon eyes or the shakes."

"You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself, Tennyson. Ya know that."

That was when Gwen came back to the table, carrying a tray of smoothies. She set one in front of Ben, "I got you a new one since I'm sure you're is already gone by now." Then set one in front of Kevin. "Here, this is strawberry banana with a vitamin C boost."

"I said I didn't want any."

But she was already sipping from her own smoothie. A mach green tea with non-dairy yogurt, soy milk, and a protein boost. Gwen ignored his comment and just dove right on into why she dragged him out here to have a meeting with Ben. "Alright, so, Ben talked to me about his idea to get you some actual training in your powers. Its gonna be a little difficult since Osmos V doesn't allow off-worlder's to travel freely on their planet. But, there is one place where off-worlders are allowed to land and trade. A little settlement off the southern coast of the eastern continent called Porttown." 

Kevin was still skeptical off this plan, but he sipped his unwanted smoothie and listened anyway. His face expressing all his pessimism and misgivings for him. 

"So, we'll just land there and find like a matter absorption school or something! It'll be like when Gwen was looking for a new karate dojo!" Ben smiled with optimism. It was all so simple. 

"Not quite." Gwen slowed him down before he could get ahead of himself. "First, not just anybody can land in Porttown. You need to get special permission from the Rans'lahd -that's their governing body- before you can land in Porttown. Thus far, the only ones I can find on record as having permission are the big-name shipping companies. CHOAM, Blue Sun, and the Ekumen. We'll have to barter passage on one of them if we wanna get planet-side."

"Basically, smuggle ourselves in." Kevin translated. Smuggling was something he was very familiar with, and rather good at. One didn't get to be an arms dealer and contraband alien tech broker without also knowing how to actually smuggle your product over boarders. 

"I didn't say that!" Gwen insisted. She had an irrational aversion to anything illegal. Kevin often wondered how she could find him so appealing. 

But he said nothing. Just sipped his smoothie in silence. Smuggling was exactly what she was describing and she could deny it all she wanted, that didn't change the facts. 

"Why don't we just call the Rans'lahd and get permission directly from them to land the Rust Bucket?" Ben asked. "I mean, I am the great Ben Tennyson, Hero of the Universe. They've gotta let me land. And you guys will come with me as my entourage. I'll sign a few autographs, take a few photos, and Kevin can get his training."

Both Kevin and Gwen shot him dark looks. Neither of them found that idea appealing. 

"I can get in touch with the Blue Sun corporation tomorrow." Gwen suggested, deciding it was best to just ignore Ben when he was like this. 

"Should I go home and pack?" Kevin asked, voice dripping with derision. This was Ben and Gwen's idea and he never actually agreed to it. They were just moving along with it as if he had, or he would. Just assuming that he would do what they wanted because they were a team. 

"No need to be snippety." Gwen chided him. 

She brushed a strand of flame-colored hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail back behind her ear. She had the most beautiful hair. The color of fire, and when the light hit it just right, it looked like spun copper and gold. Metal almost as precious as she was. Kevin found himself suppressing the urge to sigh. He was hopelessly and irresistibly attracted to this woman and there was no changing that. Maybe he should just give in and go along with this crack-pot plan of Tennyson's. If for no other reason than to not have to live in constant fear of hurting or killing the woman he was so infatuated with. 

"If you want, I'll come over and help."

The image of himself and Gwen in his room together -alone together- flashed before his minds eye and before he could stop himself, Kevin had blurted out, "I'd like that."

That coy smile from earlier was back on her lips and Kevin could only hope that this time she wouldn't be such a cruel tease. That she wouldn't touch, and caress, and arouse him only to stop cold and pull him away to other things. 

…

Kevin didn't quite know what he wanted as he drove home with Gwen in the passenger seat. 

On the one hand, he was very much looking forward to having his girlfriend with him in his bedroom, alone, and unsupervised. On the other hand, he -a dangerous Osmosian that had lost control on more than one occasion- would be in a room, alone, and unsupervised with a potent Anodite. The possibility of his slipping the leash of his self control and absorbing her was just as likely as the possibility of a make-out session evolving into something… more.

Both possibilities, however, were dashed from his mind the moment Kevin pulled his car into the garage. His mother's car was there too. That meant she was home, which meant that there were no chances of his being left unchaperoned with Gwen -never mind getting her to his bedroom. His hopes of more than making-out and fears of losing control and absorbing her fizzled out in the disappointment of being reminded that they were both still children at the mercy of their parent's rules. -Not that Kevin followed his mothers rules all that often. Thy were more like guidelines, really. But in this instance, he was pretty sure there was no way he could side-step her authority for some underage sex. That was something that just wouldn't happen. 

For as long as he could remember, his mother had a strange aversion to leaving him alone with girls. Since even before he was old enough to like girls. He couldn't figure out why. She wasn't overly conservative or anything. 

Kevin killed the engine. "You still wanna come in with me?"

"I'm not afraid of your mother. She likes me." Gwen climbed out of the car and sauntered out of the garage, pausing at the door for him to follow her. Standing in such a way, her weight more on one foot than the other, that drew attention to the curve of her hips and the firm roundness of her backside. 

Swallowing a lump that formed in his throat, Kevin also climbed out of the car. Draping one arm around her waist, they walked up to the porch together. 

There was no other car in the driveway or any parked on the street, so there was no reason to assume that his mother had guests. It came as a surprise then, when they walked in to find two men sitting on the couch . 

They turned when Kevin and Gwen entered. One wore an old Plumber's uniform. Vintage from Max's time, with visor helmet covering his face. All that could be seen was his chin. A narrow square chin with thin lips and a light reddish tint to the skin. That chin looked vaguely familiar to Kevin, but he just couldn't attach the rest of a face to it. He was in a Plumber's uniform, so maybe someone they met at the Academy in the Galvan system? But it was an old uniform, one of Max's old buddied then? But what were they doing here in his house? 

"My gosh, Kevin!" Gwen gasped at his side, the fingers of her hand intertwining with his. "He looks like you!"

For a second he didn't know what she was talking about. His attention was dominated by the one in Plumber's armor. Then his eyes shifted to the other man and he instantly understood her surprise. 

Elderly, with long snow-white hair that trailed down his back. Pulled away from his face in a half-up, half-down style that made him look like he'd just walked off the set of Lord of the Rings. Dressed in a black and green tunic with a wide belt around the wait. He looked up at them, his dark eyes darkening further with disapproval upon seeing Kevin and Gwen's intertwine hands. 

Thick white eyebrows that might have been back at one time came down in a grimace of displeasure. His lips forming into a grim line, the corners turning down in a frown that drew attention to the shape of his chin. A chin that was the exact same shape as Kevin's. High cheekbones the same as Kevin's. Eyebrows the same as Kevin's. If it wasn't for his obviously alien clothing, he could have been a time-displaced version of Kevin from the future. Like Ben 10,000 but older. 

The stranger stood. 

"Who are you?" Kevin demanded. "What are you doing in my house."

But the old man's attention wasn't on Kevin, but on Gwen. He was glaring at her with the same expression Kevin reserved for their most dangerous enemies. Almost as if Gwen were some vicious and terrible predator that the old man needed to protect someone from. "Let go of him, frei-jah!"

The threat in his voice and the murder in his eyes only made Kevin grip Gwen's hand all the tighter and he shifted his position, putting himself between her and the old man. Who did this guy think he was, coming into his house and threatening his girlfriend? "Look, buddy, we don't even know who you are. You can't just come in here and-"

"Oh, good, you're home." The tension was interrupted when Kevin's mother entered the living room with a tray of coffee and cookies. As if this was some old-fashioned drawing room party. She set the tray down on the coffee table. "Revin, this is my son, Kevin, and his girlfriend, Gwen. Kevin, this is your grandfather."

"My what now?" The younger man blinked, once again examining the uncanny resemblance between them. Grandfather certainly made much more sense than time-displaced version from the future. But what the heck was he doing showing up here all of a sudden out of the blue? Kevin didn't even know he had a grandfather. And what was his problem with Gwen?

"'Girlfriend'?" Revin repeated the unfamiliar term. His expression of disproval shifting to one of alarmed concern. "What does that mean? Are they pair-bonded?"

"No." Kevin's mother assured him, very firmly. Kevin was glad she knew what the old man was talking about because he didn't have a clue. "No. They're just dating. Now lets all sit down and talk."

She grabbed Kevin by the arm and pulled both him and Gwen down to sit on the love-seat opposite the couch while she took up the chain between. With obvious reluctance, Revin followed suit, reclaiming the seat he had just vacated on the couch. He continued to glare objectionably at Gwen. Kevin met the old man's eyes across the coffee table and glared challengingly at him. He didn't know what it was about his girlfriend that bothered his alleged 'grandfather' so much. Kevin casually allowed his hand to drift to Gwen's knee.

A muscle on the side of Revin's mouth twitched. "What is 'dating'? Unbonded males and females should not be so… familiar with each other's bodies."

Kevin's mother's head snapped to the pair on the love-seat. Noted her son's hand on his girlfriend's leg. "Kevin! Hands to yourself!"

The one in the Plumber's armor remained tactfully silent and sipped his coffee with apparent unconcern. 

Revin's eyes followed Kevin as he reluctantly removed his hand from the frei-jah's leg. They were still sitting to close together. If they were back on Osmos V an unbonded male would never have been permitted to sit so close to an unbonded female. And a frei-jah! There was a reason the frei-jah were cleansed from every generation at the time of hatching. How could these Earthlings -these humans- allow such creatures to continue? How could Devin's bond-mate allow her son -her only child- to associate with one? It was… not right!

"Have I offended you somehow?" Asked the frei-jah. "You keep glaring at me like I dented your car."

That muscle in the side of his mouth twitched again. "What are your intensions toward the son of my son, frei-jah?" He demanded. "I won't allow your witchery to pollute my bloodline."

"Wait, what?" Both Kevin and Gwen exchanged a confused glance. 

"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Gwen asked. 

Kevin only shrugged helplessly. "I feel like he's just ranting to himself and we just happen to be in the line of fire." Then to the old man, "What the hell is a 'frayja' anyway?"

…

_Devin stopped in the hall before leaving. He though it was best to leave before the Kanahnite party left in the morning. So that they did not see him go and misinterpret his 'walkabout' as slinking away in shame. But he did want to take one more look around the Keep before he left. It was his home and Devin had never before been outside of Sinoth._

_To his mild surprise, he was not the only one on a late night stroll who decided to peruse the empty hall. The warrior from the Kanahnite party was circling the hall, perusing the played design on the floor chronicling the life of Lu-Levin. He looked up when Devin entered. "Am I allowed to be in here?"_

_With a shrug of indifference Devin answered, "I don't see why not." He set his travel pack down just inside the double doors. "You're names Aggregor, right?"_

_He nodded. "My sisters told me they remember things from the Ruhsh."_

_With a sudden stab of shame, Devin looked away. Focusing his eyes instead on a banner displaying his bloodline's crest. Twin vertical lines inside a square with an arch._

_"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Aggregor quickly apologized. He turned his attention back to the floor and indicated Lu-Levin's Frei-jah mate. "We have stories about this same creature in Kanahn. Frei-jah. My ancestor, Ash-Ashrah supposably pair-bonded with one. Saiyadina. He was out of the dues one night and she floated down to him from the stars. She had powers no Osmosian had ever seen before and helped him unite the desert tribes."_

_Devin nodded, glad for anything else to discuss besides his failure at the test earlier that day. "My ancestor, Lu-Levin lived on this peak long before the Keep was built. At that time, Sinoth was not one territory but two, Sin and Oth, with the Ice Flow as the natural boarder between them. One night in the middle of a blizzard there was a knock at Lu-Levin's door and he opened it to find a woman shivering out in the cold. He invited her in even though he was an unbonded male and gave her shelter for the night. In the morning she showed her gratitude by creating a bridge of light over the Ice Flow to connect Oth to Sin and they became one territory."_

_"Well, it looks like there's more to it than just that." Aggregor smirked, indicating all the circles depicting lots and lots of fighting._

_"There's always more to old stories than what you're told." Devin returned the smirk._

_"Your line is descended from the Frei-jah. I'm also a decedent of a Frei-jah."_

_"Frei-jah don't actually exist." Devin reminded him. "They're just a myth."_


	3. Mana Dissonance

_The first stop Devin made upon leaving the Keep was to the Monastery on the opposite side of the Ice Flow. He wanted to apologize to the Clerics for killing their Brother and make whatever reparations they deemed necessary for the loss._

_It was an old tower, dating all the way back to the days before Sinoth was one unified territory. When he was still a hatchling, Devin's tutors told him the monastery used to be the old capital of Sin. Built, not from stones, but from Anthozoa -the living rock of the sea floor. Red as blood from an open vein. A strong but porous material, light to lift but capable of supporting more than twice its own weight. It was how they were able to build a structure so high without toppling over. But it was shit for insulation and so the interior was paneled in thick slabs of wood and draped in tapestried woven from course thread._

_In the old days before Sinoth, it was called the Red Tower. Now it was just the Monastery. Where the Clergy lived. Where pair-bond vows were made, where Rans'lahd heirs ascended to claim their parent's seat, where funeral rights were preformed, and, where weapons were made._

_That last one always seemed odd to Devin. How could Clerics be better weapons smiths than the actual smith class who worked with metals as a way of life, or the warrior class who lived with a weapon as an extension of their own bodies? It was true that the weapons made by the Cleric had a power that other's made by other hands did not -almost like they were alive. But it still always struck Devin as odd. His own great sword was made by the Clerics of the Monastery and while he wasn't warrior class anymore, he still carried it with him because to leave it behind in SInoth felt to much like he was abandoning a friend._

_Devin took off his ice cleats in the entryway. Hanging them by their straps on a peg where other pilgrims had done the same._

_The entryway opened into a wide oval chamber with a red Anthozoa floor and heavy tapestries of heroes from Osmosian history and mythology. Eevar the Boneless being carried into battle on the shield of his brother. The wiseman Mithran who appeared on the doorstep of Bagan one evening and spirited him away to fight a Kryat dragon. And, hung in a corner -almost begrudgingly- was Lu-Levin._

_Devin paused at his ancestor's tapestry. Sitting on a throne of blue ice and rose-colored light was Lu-Levin. The Keep of Oth behind him to the right, the tower of Sin to his left. And above him, her body draped lazily over the throne's high back was Lu-Levin's Frei-jah bond-mate. Devin took a moment to examine the image. Usually, when Frei-jah were depicted in art, they appeared more as indistinct female silhouettes in tones of either purple or pink. But this image showed her as just a woman, seemingly normal apart from the flame-colored hair. A coy smile on her lips. Her cheek resting in one hand, the other one twirling a lock of Lu-Levin's long black hair lazily around her finger._

_"She would have been pretty if it weren't for that red hair." A Cleric came up behind Devin. "But then, without that hair, how would one know she was evil?"_

_Turning around, Devin found that it was the Abbot that had snuck up behind him. He wasn't all that much older than Devin's father, but had a frail, hunched-over posture that came from long hours of reading and study that made him look older. "She couldn't have been all evil, or else my ancestor wouldn't have bonded her."_

_"I've not yet heard a tale in which a Frei-jah was not wicked." Said the Abbot._

_"I met a man from Kanahn not long ago." Devin informed him. "They have a story of a Frei-jah there too. She helped Ash-Ashrah unite the desert tribes. Just like Dolyn helped unite Oth and Sin."_

_The Abbot only gave Devin a patient, humoring smile. The kind of smile an adult might give a child when they say something sweet and innocent but ultimately incorrect and just don't have the heart to tell them how wrong they are. "If ever you see this man from Kanahn again, ask him to tell you how the story ended."_

_Kanahn was one of the stops he planned to make on his travels. His travels to reflect on his failure in the test and subsequent rejection of the bond proposal with the Ashrah eleventh daughter. That reminded Devin of why he'd actually come to the Monastery._

_"I suppose by now you've heard what happened during my test." Devin began. "I'm sorry I killed your Brother. I was going to spend my year of reflection abroad, but if you demand it of me, I'll spend that year here working off any debt I might owe for the life of your Brother."_

_The Abbot's old face broke into a smile. Something between amusement and irony. "You would have made a terrible Rans'lahd." He said. "You care to much for things aside from bloodlines. But I'm confused. You say you killed the Cleric I sent to test you, but I was informed you drained him. Was I misinformed?"_

_"Well, no." Devin admitted. "I did drain him. I drained him until he died."_

_That patient smile usually reserved only for children was back on the Abbot's face again. "You didn't kill him, Devin son of Revin, you merely moved him from one vessel to another. Though you are no longer suffering the Ruhsh, his energy is still within you. Energy can never be destroyed, only dispersed or redirected. When your body dies, he'll be reborn just as you will be."_

_"Right." Devin knew that. He didn't know why he let the Cleric's death bother him so much. Maybe it was just all the pressure that was on him of late that he'd developed a habit of turning any occurrence that was the slightest bit unfortunate into a great and terrible catastrophy to be dealt with._

_"All absorbing him completely means is that -when you are reborn- you will come into the world in a time and place close to one another." Continued the Abbot as if Devin hadn't spoken. "When two beings occupy the same vessel -even for just a short time- their energies are irrevocably intermingled and they will inevitably meet in their next life."_

_At hearing that Devin looked back at the tapestry of Lu-Levin and Dolyn. Their story ended when Lu-Levin absorbed her completely -so completely in fact, that there was not even a body left of her. Just limp empty skin -like a discarded coat. Driven mad by his own guilt and loneliness, Lu-Levin took his own life. If any two people were going to be reincarnated in the same time and place, it would be them. How many lives had they lived over the centuries? Were they bond-mates in each one? Or enemies instead? Were their energies out there right now? Somewhere in the universe living the latest of many lives?_

_Or were they still waiting to be reborn together?_

…

Kevin shrugged helplessly as he draped an arm around Gwen's shoulders, pulling her closer to himself and glaring challengingly at the old man who claimed to be his grandfather. "What the hell is a 'frayja' anyway?"

"Its our word for a red-haired woman." The one in the old Plumber's uniform informed them, sipping his coffee. His voice was very familiar sounding. But neither Kevin nor Gwen could exactly place where they'd heard it before. "This beverage is quite good."

"What, are you guys racist against red-heads, or something?" Kevin asked. 

"I don't know what that word means." Revin informed him.

"That's not what Devin told me." Mrs. Levin added. "He said that frei-jah were malicious mythical creatures and because all of them were described as having red hair, modern-day Osmosians are suspicious and skittish around red-heads."

"That's just ridiculous." Gwen scoffed. "I can't believe a modern space-fairing society could still be so irrational, superstitious and… ignorant as to believe the color of a person's hair means anything about their morals or affinities." 

"I don't have to justify myself or my people to you, frei-jah." Revin snarled. 

Kevin burst to his feet. "Don't talk to her like that!" He snarled down at the old man. It was complexity unbelievable. Where did this guy get off? He just appears out of nowhere claiming to be his grandfather as if that was supposed to mean something and then starts making judgments about hit girlfriend, or who he should and shouldn't be dating. "You are a guest here. I don't know how things are done on Osmos V, but here on Earth, a guest doesn't insult his host -or his host's woman! You have no right."

Still sitting Gwen placed a hand on Kevin's leg. "Its okay. This is just a cultural misunderstanding." She reminded him. "They covered this at the Plumber's Academy."

Revin also stood. He did not like how quickly Devin's son jumped to the frei-jah's defense. Or how familiar he and the frei-jah were with each other. Sitting so close together. Touching each other as freely as if they were a bonded pair. Devin's bond-mate insisted that they were not pair-bonded, but how accurate was that assessment? She obviously didn't feel the need to separate them. Did these humans just not do that? Were unbounded males and females allowed to mingle freely and unchaperoned all the time? How could Devin's mate be so sure her son was not already bonded to the frei-jah? Did she even check? 

"Actually, Kevin son of Devin, as the patriarch of your bloodline, it is my right." Revin informed him. "If this 'dating' is anything similar to what I'm imagining, then you will need my approval before you can continue! Who even arranged this match in the first place?"

"Arranged?" Both Kevin and Gwen exclaimed.

"We don't arrange couples here on Earth -at least, not most places on Earth." Mrs. Levin informed him calmly. "We let people choose who they date."

Still sitting on the couch, drinking his coffee as if nothing affected him, the one in the Plumber's uniform with the visor began to shake with barely contained laughter. Something about this whole exchange was, apparently, very amusing to him. 

"That's absurd!" Revin insisted. "Young people couldn't possibly choose their own mates for themselves! They don't have the maturity or critical reasoning to know who would be the best partner to continue their bloodline!"

"What?" Both Kevin and Gwen exclaimed. 

Gwen was on her feet too now. The only people not standing at this point were Mrs. Levin and the masked Plumber.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gwen waved her arms in a negative. "Who said anything about mating? He's just my boyfriend. Its not like we're gonna get married or anything! I'm still in high school! I haven't even started collage yet! I can't get married before I get a degree, a husband would just get in the way! Jeez!"

For the briefest of moments, Kevin looked insulted. Then he paused to think about it, decided that if this hypothetical husband was him, he probably would get in the way.

Revin did not look convinced. Of course the frei-jah would not take something as important as a pair-bond seriously. Putting her own needs ahead of a mate or her bloodline. Revin didn't know what this 'collage' was, or what a 'degree' might be, but he understood the meaning quite clearly. Regardless of whether or not the frei-jah was actually pair-bonded to Devin's son or not, she would leave him for these things. Just as Dolyn tried to leave Lu-Levin and her abandonment drove him to absorb her before ending his own life. 

"I think we should all just take a moment to calm down." Now Mrs. Levin was on her feet. "Like Gwen said, this is obviously just a misunderstanding." 

"This is great!" Said the one in the Plumber's visor. He, at least was enjoying himself, watching the family drama unfold was greatly entertaining for him.

"The frei-jah has to go." Revin insisted. 

"Listen buddy, she's got more of a right to be here than you do!" Kevin snarled. "I've faced down death, destruction, and insanity with this woman. You? Until ten minutes ago, I didn't even know you existed. You can't just come in here, insult my girl friend or dictate who stays and who goes. You don't like it, you leave! …Or I will make you leave."

With an exasperated sigh of resignation, Mrs. Levin threw her arms up in defeat. "I was wondering when my son would get around to his seemingly obligatory threats of violence. Please take it outside, and try not to destroy my house this time, Kevin. We only just finished repaires from Ragnarok's little episode and I really like the new kitchen tiles. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the basement."

She left. 

Kevin glared at his paternal grandfather, daring the older man to challenge him. 

Gwen shifted her position to be between Kevin and the visitors. "For goodness' sake, Kevin! You're not going to fight your own grandfather."

"I'm still not convinced he actually is my grandfather." 

Seriously? They looked almost exactly alike -apart from the obvious age gap. With an exasperated sigh, Gwen decided to rephrase, "Okay, you're not gonna beat up a helpless old man."

That got a laugh from the masked Plumber. A real laugh or ironic humor, not the soft chuckles and snickers he'd been trying to hold back before. But a real and proper snort of derision. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Don't let their entitlement and privilege fool you, the Rans'lahd are far from helpless." 

"And who are you supposed to be, anyway?" Now Kevin's attention was focused on the other man in the out-dated Plumber's uniform with its visored helmet. 

Who kept their visor down indoors? Who even kept their helmet on indoors while enjoying a cup of coffee? No one, that's who. Not unless they had a reason to -like concealing their identity. All that was visible of his face was that chin. A narrow but squared jaw with thin lips and skin of a light pinkish-red. It was a very familiar half of face, but Kevin still couldn't place it. The voice was familiar too. He knew he'd heard this man speak somewhere before. But the context was all wrong. Here in his mother's living room he was calm and relaxed, full of humor at their expense. But Kevin imagined the last time he'd heard the voice it was angry, desperate, maybe a little half-mad… 

"I'm what you might call a 'travel guide', hatchling." He supplied. 

Hatchling… That word struck a cord in Kevin's memory. 

_'You're out of your depth, hatchling!'_

_'Look, you don't scare me! I'm an Osmosian just like you!'_

"No freakin' way." Kevin snarled and his hand lanced out to pluck the visored helmet from the older man's head. 

"Aggregor!" Gwen exclaimed. 

She didn't pause to gasp in shock or gaped at finding their most recently defeated enemy in her boyfriend's home. She just reacted. Hands glow star-sapphire pink, she enveloped the intergalactic criminal in bindings of pure mana. Wrapping him from shoulders down to ankles so that there was no chance of moving. 

"Bad idea." Kevin reminded her, just as Aggregor absorbed the very power that was holding him bound. 

The Osmosian stood from the couch, bringing back the memory of menace and dread. Of how he absorbed the lives of four aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy, not just their powers or abilities, but their life-forces in all! Of chasing his around the universe and alternate magical detentions trying to prevent him from getting the Map of Infinity. Of being beaten into submission and nearly dying at the Forge of Creation… 

Unconsciously, Gwen took a step back. 

Kevin quickly jumped between them, grabbed Aggregor by his armor plated arm and absorbed the metal of the armor. "Get. Out. Of my. House!"

And he did a little side-step maneuver that Gwen had taught him. It unbalanced the older Osmosian, knocking his feet out from under him, and Kevin threw the larger man over his shoulder -right through the front door, shattering it to splinters. 

Aggregor picked himself up off the front lawn. "I didn't come here for another fight!"

"Well, to damn bad!" Kevin jumped through the now open door, hanging off its hinges. "'Cause that's exactly what you're gonna get! You show up at my home where my mother lives! How dare you! How did you even escape Plumber custody anyway? We never got an alert!"

Kevin morphed one arm into a blade and Revin's eyes narrowed at the move. As if it were something he did not expect to see in an improperly bred mongrel raised on an alien world far from home or any version of proper training. 

Slashing with the blade, Kevin brought his hand down just a half-second to late to actually cut the older man in half. Aggregor jumped to the side, debating with himself whether or not it was wise to fight back in self-defense or foolish to beat-up and subdue the last living heir to the Levin bloodline right in front of the Levin Rans'lahd. Kevin's blade hand stuck in the glass and he struggled for a moment to pull it out again before giving up on that and morphing it into a different shape instead. This time Revin's expression was appraising as he watched how easily the son of his son shifted the mater he absorbed from one form to another. So fluid and effortless, like it came to him naturally. 

Now with a spiked mace for one hand, and a hammer for the other, he went after his enemy again. Aggregor wished he hadn't left his sholto inside behind the couch. The long pole-arm spear would have been good defense against the angry hatchling's attacks. 

There were few things more dangerous than an agitated and frightened creature protecting its home.

Gwen ran out of the broken door after Kevin, planning to give what help she could. It took all three of them -her, Kevin and Ben- to defeat Aggregor at the Forge of Creation, and even then, the Osmosian almost killed them. Gwen was not about to let her boyfriend, the man she was very nearly close to professing to 'love', go up against him alone. She didn't bother using her mana, not this time around. She didn't need to bolster her enemies strength while wearing herself out. Instead, she lashed out with her karate and self-defense training. 

While Kevin went high, aiming his hammer or mace at Aggregor's head or chest. She went low, aiming her punches or kicks at his knees or ankles. 

Together, they pushed the Osmosian warlord off the lawn and over the side walk. They were a good offensive team, but Aggregor had years of experience over them. So, while there were two of them and only one of him, and he wasn't fighting back, they were still only just evenly matched. It was actually rather irritating to watch. Revin grew board very quickly. 

He sauntered up to the trio of combatants and tapped Kevin once on the forehead -almost casually. The matter of his armor instantly melted from his body -faster than it would have if he had let it go on his own. Kevin staggered backwards in confusion and alarm. 

The flow of energies in his body suddenly interrupted, Kevin fell backwards on his ass. "What the-!" 

"Aggregor, stand down." Revin commanded. 

And to the couple's disbelief, he obeyed. Relaxing his stance and moving to stand half a step behind Revin on his left side. 

"What is going on here!?" Gwen demanded. 

But Revin had no patience to waste a witch's questions, so he ignored her and instead focused his attention of Devin's son. 

In all truthfulness, he had not been expecting much when Aggregor told them of Devin's heir. He was the offspring of an alien female of unknown bloodline, raised on an alien world far from home, never received a moment of proper training, and was raised among creatures that didn't and couldn't understand him. When Revin met Kevin, he found him surly, excitable, and aggressive. Not qualities one wishes to find in a Rans'lahd heir. But the boy could change his form at will after absorbing mater, and that begged for a closer study. 

It was a rare ability among Osmosians -even among the old or the pure bloodlines. 

Sure, all Osmosians could absorb energy -in multiple forms. Sure most Osmosians could absorb matter. Yes, absorbing certain forms of energy -such as life energy- mutated an Osmosian's form, but changing back from that mutated form at will was difficult at best and impossible at worst. Yes, absorbing matter gave an Osmosian a 'second skin' of sorts that could be manipulated within reason -even covered in a skin of stone, a warrior could move like a person and not be held immobile like a statue. 

But to change the shape and form of your body -even just a part of your body- entirely at your own will was something unique and rare. Only a handful of people in Osmosian history possessed the ability. Revin's ancestor, Lu-Levin, was one of them. He always hoped that with discipline, training, and practice he could gain the ability. But Revin was well past his prime now, his body already into decline. Any hope of gaining the ability now was beyond him. But the son of his son had the ability and that made him proud -and a little jealous, but he was choosing to focus on the pride instead. 

"Kevin, are you okay?" 

The frei-jah was kneeling next to him, one and on his cheek, the other resting on his knee. That physical intimacy would have to stop. Devin's bond-mate could say what she wanted, they did not act like an unbonded pair. They acted like bond-mates that had been together for some time now. If they really were bonded, then Kevin was a lost cause. Rare and unique ability be damned, Revin would turn around and leave the boy exactly where he fond him and never look back. But if Devin's mate was right and they weren't yet bonded, then he should get the boy away from the witch right away. Take him home to Osmos V. Luar would be upset with him for -once again- making an important family decision without her approval, but Revin figured enduring his mate's ire was a small price to pay for getting the last living heir to their bloodline away from a frey-jah witch. 

"I don't know what happened." Kevin placed his hand over her's. "He just poked me and I felt dizzy and lost my armor." 

"Step away from him." Revin commanded, putting all the -more than considerable- authority he had into his voice. 

The frei-jah was unimpressed. She shot to her feet, glaring daggers at the old Osmosian. "His mana flow's all choppy. What did you do to him?"

"I feel dizzy." Kevin informed no one in particular. 

"He's not your concern, frei-jah." Revin snapped. "Now tell me plainly in words I understand -'girlfriend' and 'dating' are meaningless- is my son's son bonded to you?"

"I don't know what that means!" She snarled. "What did you do to Kevin? Tell me so I can reverse it and put his mana flow back to normal."

"I'm just gonna lay down for a sec." Kevin informed them -not focusing on anyone. He was unconscious before his head even touched the grass. 

Revin noted how long it actually took the boy to pass out. Most Osmosians lost consciousness almost instantly once the flow of energies within them was interrupted. The body needed rest to restore the natural currents. The fact that Kevin remained conscious and speaking for so long was either telling of just how different his hybrid physiology was, or else his body had undergone extreme energy shifts before and was resistant to the shock of it. Devin's son was becoming more and more interesting by the moment. If only he didn't have that frei-jah hanging on him all the time. 

"Kevin!" She exclaimed and was on her knees by his side again -like any concerned mate would be. Her eyes flashed dangerously back to Revin, threatening violence if she didn't like his answer to her next questions. "What do you want?"

"I asked you what I wanted to know."

"Oh, for Ash's sake!" Aggregor threw his arms up in exasperation -he was not the least bit entertained by this frustrating exchange. "Have you hatchlings had sex? Specifically with each other -since frei-jah are rutty little sluts."

"Wh-what?" Gwen blinked at him, completely taken aback. That fact that it was really none of his business aside, that was just not the kind of question one expects to hear from an enemy. She was so thrown by the question and who was asking that she answered truthfully. "N-no."

"Then he's not bonded to you." Revin nodded, a feeling of relief rushing through him. The last heir to his bloodline was not cursed with a treacherous witch for a mate. The Levin bloodline could remain clean -son long as he got the boy away from the witch before she could coax him into ruining his life and the lives of his decedents forever. "Aggregor, lift him for me. We're leaving."

"What!" Gwen shrieked. "You can't just take him! That's kidnapping!"

"I'm the patriarch of his bloodline." Revin reminded her, as if this should mean something to Gwen. "I can do whatever I bloody well like with him. You are the one that has not rights to him, frei-jah. If we were on my world, you wouldn't even have been allowed to exist."

Gwen's eyes and hands glowed star-sapphire. "You're not taking him."

Most people, when they see a pissed off glowing woman glaring at them with murderous intent, they back off -or at the very least, are a little intimidated. But all Kevin's supposed 'grandfather' did was… study her. From the glow of her eyes to the orbs of power in her hands, as if tracing the paths of her mana. Watching the way it shifted and flowed. Currents of power were different in every species and human was one Revin had never seen before. But it was not all that different than Osmosian. 

For Osmosians, the center for power, the place that regulated energy flow was in the head. For humans, apparently, it was in the chest.

Revin crossed the distance between them and Gwen was about to give him one hell of an Anodite smack-down when the old man tapped her lightly over the heart. Just a tap. 

But it was like throwing a rock in a stream. The current was momentarily interrupted by the splash. Rippled creating a dissonance in the waters. The natural flow of mana within her was thrown into sudden chaos and she had to fight to get herself back under control. She didn't remember falling, but when Gwen came-to she was laying on the lawn of Kevin's house. Mrs. Levin was kneeling over her -checking her pulse- and Kevin was gone.


End file.
